


Radioactive Resurgence

by Hino



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, post-The End, radioactivity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 15:58:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11809320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hino/pseuds/Hino
Summary: Eduardo has come to understand his radioactive powers, seeing as they never fully left him.As for Edd, with the return of his abilities, he finds himself in need of a tutor





	Radioactive Resurgence

The knock on Eduardo’s door was unexpected. It cut through the dull sound of daytime television, and the drone of the dishwasher working away, startling him out of his book. It had been about the Afterlife, something Matt had loaned him when he first moved into the apartment complex, but only just got around to reading.

With a grunt of effort, he pulled himself off the couch, kicking aside the empty takeaway containers as he tried to get his footing. There was no grace to his actions, except to place a bookmark between the pages of his book and set it down on the cleanest part of the couch. Pushing things aside, Eduardo forged onwards, making a path through the mess, all the way to the door.

“If you’re selling something, I’m not interested,” he answered as he struggled with the door, pushing back the few things that he’d thrown behind it lazily. Eduardo gave the door one hard shove before turning his attention back to the visitor, expression dropping him mild irritation to surprise, and then back again. “Edd?”

 

Before him was the man, nervous and shifting from side to side. He was wringing his hands together, clearly uncomfortable being there. The only time Eduardo could recall seeing Edd after the accident, was at Jon’s funeral, and then shortly after he’d moved in. Since then, he’d been rather scarce. “Hey there,” he greeted, voice quiet but still audible. “I uh, I hope I’m not bothering you.”

He was, in fact, bothering Eduardo. He wanted to read his book in peace, not bother with the neighbour he thought he’d finally gotten away from. With Edd being distant, Eduardo had finally thought he had a chance at a normal life, or whatever passed as normal in this town. However, Eduardo pushed the thoughts aside, instead curious at whatever had Edd so uneasy.  
“You’re not bothering me,” he lied, leaning against the doorway, arms crossed. “But something’s definitely bothering you.”

Edd nodded, twiddling his thumbs. “So, I was just sitting around, trying to draw something, and I...”

“And you?” Eduardo raised an eyebrow.

“And I started floating?” Edd spoke, sounding uncertain of his own words. Eduardo stood straight, arms slack at his sides. There was anger in his face, clear as day, and Edd flinched. “I’m sorry, I really should-” he tried to turn and walk away, but his foot didn’t meet the faded carpet of the hall. Instead it met nothing. In fact, neither of his feet were on the ground. The realization came slowly, and he braced himself for Eduardo’s outburst, waiting.

 

It got awkward to be waiting for so long. Bracing was hard when you had nothing to anchor yourself onto. Slowly, Edd relaxed, turning his gaze back to Eduardo. He’d been expecting an angry face at the least, but instead he only looked exhausted, defeated. “Are... are you alright?”

“I was hoping I could do something that you couldn’t,” Eduardo answered. Edd looked at him with confusion, only fulling understanding when Eduardo crossed his legs and proceeded to float instead of landing flat on his ass. “Come inside then, I can’t have you hovering in my doorway forever,” he sighed, setting his feet back on the ground and gesturing for Edd to enter. 

He did so, awkwardly. Edd tried to set his feet down like Eduardo, but found himself a few inches away from the ground. Then, he tried to fly into the room slowly. Instead, he practically teleported into the room, slamming into the living room wall and jostling a photo frame. Eduardo sighed and closed the door, trying not to shout. “Do you need some help?”

Edd sprang to his feet. “I’m fine!” he rushed out, straightening the framed photo on the wall. He paused as he did, noticing the contents of the frame. It was an image of Jon, graduating from University. He was in the robes they typically supplied, holding his certification. Eduardo and Mark stood on either side of him, holding their respective degrees and grinning.

“Just as that photo was taken, Tom pulled out one of the knives he kept stored on him and started threatening the rabid penguins that had escaped from the nearby zoo,” Eduardo said as he approached, startling Edd. “You were encouraging them, and Matt was taking bets on who’d win. All the friends we’d been talking to before the photo immediately ran over. After the fight ended, they left without saying a word to us. We returned our robes and went out for celebratory drinks.”

“Oh,” Edd answered, shoving his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. “I’m sorry-”

“-At said bar where we were drinking, you burst in with Tom held bridal-style, and declared that you wanted free drinks for the ‘Slayer of Penguins’ as you’d put it. So that meant we only had one drink before we left.” Kicking away some trash, Eduardo cleared behind the couch. “Everywhere we went, either you were, or you soon arrived.”

His words made Edd frown, and he tried to speak up, only to find himself with nothing. Eduardo had a point. He and his friends were loud, and they went almost everywhere. They had always been the center of attention, stars of the show. To hear how it was to be on the other side of that coin made Edd uncomfortable. “I’m really sorry about that. I really am.”

Eduardo waved it off. “It’s in the past,” was all he said, taking a seat in the newly cleared space. “Sit.” He gestured towards a spot, and Edd settled down in it without a moment to waste.

 

Eduardo’s floor was less than clean. As Edd crossed his legs and sat, he felt the carpet stick to his pants. In arms reach were old takeaway containers and bottles of diet cola. Dust hung in the air too, and just added to the dirty atmosphere.

“I want you to focus for me.” Eduardo placed his hands on his knees, looking at Edd patiently. “And listen to what I have to say.”

Edd nodded, placing his hands atop his knees. He closed his eyes and tried to focus, waiting for whatever Eduardo was going to say next. He wasn’t sure what he’d be told. Some part of him thought it was going to be some stuff about exploring the feelings in his heart, while another part considered that he’d be lectured on the science behind radioactivity, which would be amusing given their history with logic and practical science. Edd cleared these thoughts from his mind and took a breath. “I’m ready.”

A smile crossed Eduardo’s lips as he too closed his eyes, focusing. “Good. Think about where you are. Now tell me, what can you feel?”

There was silence as Edd tried to think. What could he feel?  
“The sticky carpet,” he began, face scrunching up in thought. “The trash nearby. My jeans.”

“Good. What can you hear?”

This one was easier. “Zombie Pirates from Hell 3,” he replied immediately. 

Eduardo grumbled, and the television stopped. From what Edd could tell, the man hadn’t gotten up. “What can you hear now? Focus, Edd.”

There was nothing. He couldn’t hear the cars outside, or the birds taking nest in the tree outside. There was no sound except-  
“Static,” he announced. “Something like a hum. When you don’t plug the audio jack in properly, or when Tom plugs in his bass with the amp on.”

“I want you to focus on that.” It was an order, but a soft one. There would be no punishment if Edd failed, but the reward would be great. “Where is it coming from?”

“From myself.” It was an easy answer. Edd could hear the sound clearly, and the more he focused on it, the more he could sense it. The hum rumbled around his insides, making his bones ache ever so softly, and scrambling his thoughts, yet it also made him feel stronger, and like he could understand anything. “But it’s hard to focus on. The carpet keeps distracting me.”

 

When Eduardo spoke, it was soft. “Then clean it.”

Edd opened his eyes, looking at Eduardo like he’d insulted his family. Across from him sat the man, peaceful, calm. He was genuinely smiling, and it looked strange to see on his face. There was no malice, or foreshadowing. It was content.  
“Focus on what is distracting you. Think about it, then just... make it go.” Eduardo raised his hands from his knees, and held them straight out at his sides. There was a pulse of energy, and Edd felt it ruffle his hair, although he paid it no mind. His attention was focused on the carpet where Eduardo had been sitting. Before, it had been a soft caramel colour, but now was a blinding white. The new carpet was the diameter of Eduardo’s stretched arms in a circle, and Edd could only stare. 

“Your carpet is gross,” he finally managed to say after a moment, recovering from the shock. 

Eduardo opened his eyes and looked down, frowning at the contrast. “I didn’t even realize this place had white carpet. It was a tan brown when I moved in,” he answered, looking up to meet Edd’s harsh glare. “That doesn’t make things much better, does it?”

There was no answer, only a sigh as Edd closed his eyes, making sure his hands were firm on his knees. He focused on the way his shoes stuck to the carpet, and how the dust in the air tickled his nose. He thought of how there was something soaking into the bottom of his jeans, and how he’d want to shower once he was done here. He focused on the crackle of energy, and the disgust he felt, and how crisp and clean the carpet had been. Slowly, Edd raised his hands, focused on all those things, and imagined forcing it through his hands.

 

At first he’d thought nothing had happened, and so he tried harder. Edd could feel the crackle of energy in his fingers and he focused on it, letting the hum of energy fill his ears. He wasn’t exactly sure what the hum was, but it was calming, and he let it engulf him as he focused on projecting energy outwards.

“...Edd...”

The hum was soothing, and Edd felt himself drifting, lost in the sound as it engulfed him. This wasn’t hard at all. Hell, Edd thought that Eduardo would get jealous of how well he was doing on his first shot.

“Edd!”

He opened his eyes calmly, smiling as he looked up at Eduardo, but the expression was quick to fall. The man was standing up, hands pressing down on the bright green forcefield that had surrounded Edd. The carpet was white and smoking, fibers beginning to catch fire and leap onto his pants. In a panic, Edd dropped his arms, and the green barrier went with it, causing Eduardo to stumble.

 

“What was that?” Edd looked around as he spoke, confused by what had happened. The carpet around him was clean, like he’d wanted, but other things seemed to be changed. The trash that had been behind the couch was gone now, and the back of the couch itself was now a light grey, instead of dirty brown. It was as if someone had come along with a pressure hose and gone to town. 

The carpet beneath him was white, like Eduardo had done, but it had also spread, arcs of white carpet spreading all across the floor.  
“You thought too hard,” Eduardo answered, flexing his fingers. “You were doing fine at first, then you just... pushed. All that energy shot out. Nearly gave me a heart attack.” He spoke softly, but Edd knew what he was saying was serious. He’d expected anger, and almost craved it, with how oddly relaxed Eduardo was being. “You’re a natural. Just don’t try too hard to do things, okay?”

“Aren’t you mad?” Edd asked, rubbing at his wrists. “I almost blew up your apartment.” He didn’t meet Eduardo’s eye contact, instead focusing on standing up. 

There was a shrug. “Your friend blew my up house. I’m just used to it by now,” he answered. Edd turned to glare at him, but relaxed as he saw the gentle smile on Eduardo’s face. It had only been six months or so since the incident, but it seemed as if Eduardo had moved on, or at least pretended to. “Besides, the insurance money on this place would be amazing,” he added with a grin. 

Edd stared for a moment before laughing, covering his mouth as he did. “I guess so. Well then, I think I’ve messed up enough of your apartment for one day. I should be off.”

“You should rest. This stuff takes its toll on you,” came Eduardo’s reply as he pointed a finger to the carpet. He drew a line from where they were standing, to the door, carpet turning white as he made the path. Edd scoffed, took two steps on the newly cleaned path, and almost stumbled. “You alright there?”

“Just fine!” came the overconfident response as Edd picked himself up and hurried towards the door. “Hey uh,” Edd paused as he grabbed the door handle, looking back into the apartment. “I’m sorry about today. And I wanna say thanks, y’know. You might think that you’re second best at everything, but this is somewhere you’ve got me beat.”

The door swung shut as Edd left, and Eduardo sighed, letting the man’s words wash over him. “Not second best,” he mumbled to himself. It made his heart feel warm, and he smiled, pointing a finger at the television. It flicked on, switching to the music channel and cranking itself up until various party tunes were blasting through the apartment. Eduardo rolled up his sleeves, and pointed to the carpet, watching as the dirt vanished.

If Edd was going to come back over, he had to get this place cleaned up.


End file.
